1/30 Byron Ave, Takapuna sold for $1.4million. Photo / Jason Oxenham
1/30 Byron Ave, Takapuna sold for $1.4million. Photo / Jason Oxenham
A humble Takapuna two-bedroom unit has sold for $1.4 million, showing how even a small apartment is now enough to turn Auckland owners into millionaires.
The 1960s brick unit at 1/30 Byron Ave boasts just 70sq m of floor space, an unremarkable interior and sits on a cross lease withanother unit.
Yet with Auckland's housing market surging back to life, it sold last week for $440,000 above its $960,000 council valuation.
Or equal to about $20,000 per square metre of floor space compared to an average price for similar North Shore properties of $7500sq m.
It's auction was also brought forward from March 7 to February 19, although it is not clear if this was due to a pre-auction offer.
Nick Goodall, from property analysts CoreLogic, said Auckland prices had leapt higher than most pundits expected as greater confidence returned, more homes sold and more money was lent out in bank mortgages.
1/30 Byron Ave, Takapuna sold for $1.4million. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"There is definitely more confidence back in the market and we are seeing that in prices throughout Auckland," he said.
The sale is further proof of how dramatic Auckland's property price rebound has been.
The latest Real Estate Institute data showed Auckland prices and house sales last month leapt to highs not seen in the month of January since the 2016 boom years.
Auckland's median house price hit $875,000, close to record highs and up 8.7 per cent on the median $805,000 price last January.
The North Shore City area had Auckland's highest median price at $1.1m, while the number of sales in the area was 29 per cent higher than the same month last year, according to REI's data.
Dominick Stephens, Westpac chief economist, now tipped annual Auckland and national house price growth to hit a peak of 10 per cent by mid-year.
Marketing material for the Byron Ave, Takapuna, unit by Barfoot & Thompson selling agent Logan McLaughlin indicated it was so highly prized for its location.
"With just a short three-minute stroll from Takapuna's lively cafe and shopping scene, location is the obvious drawcard here," the advertising said.
"But it's not the only one. The solid brick and tile construction is complimented by a freshly painted and exceptionally tidy interior."
Yet analyst Goodall said the sale price was high. He wondered whether it was able to reach such heights because of its potential for development.
The unit sits on 827sq m of land zoned for terrace housing and apartment buildings. Developments can theoretically be built up to 22 metres high on the site.
Yet the land is owned as a cross lease in partnership with the owner of unit two on the same block, and so any future development would be dependent on them also.
Public records do not make it clear if there is a connection between the owners of the two units.
1/30 Byron Ave, Takapuna sold for about $1.4 million, despite having just two-bedroom and 70sq m of floor space. Photo / Google
Goodall said it was likely the buyer had some development plan in mind, given the area around Takapuna had been earmarked for more intensive housing development in the future.
"Anyone who understands the Auckland Unitary Plan might have greater plans for this unit," he said.
Owen Vaughan, editor of property website OneRoof, said homes in areas earmarked for higher density housing had been selling particularly well.
"What recent sales have shown is that those properties that have sold well above CV in Auckland are attractively zoned and have huge development potential," he said.
